


Star-walt Optimism

by InsominiacArrest



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), F/F, Gen, Humor, Series, Slow Burn, shop au, some supernatural
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-04
Updated: 2015-09-04
Packaged: 2018-04-19 01:45:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4728125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InsominiacArrest/pseuds/InsominiacArrest
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Life is testing Mabel, but she’s not giving up easy on her goals.<br/>alt: Pacifica and Mabel own rival shops in town, Mabel readjusts to life in Gravity Falls and deals with some issues with a curse.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Star-walt Optimism

Mabel stops and starts her car in the middle of the road, revving the engine and pushing on the pedal. It jerks forward a foot and then halts again, making Mabel's head bob back and forth violently. She repeats the process three times.

“Come on you stupid thing.” She takes her keys out of the ignition and then reinserts them, roaring the engine to life and then forcing it forward, the pink bug gives one heaving jolt.

“Yes!” It rolls three feet and then gives what feels like its final wheezing breath, she can feel the combustion die beneath the hood, “nooo.” She eases her head back onto the headrest.

She looks up at the rust on the ceiling that kind of looked like Freddy Mercury’s face and gives a sigh. “Alright, Freddie, I know you believe in me.” She plasters a final smile on her face and resolutely climbs out of her car. “It will just take a little will power!”

She gets to the back of the car, places her hands on the bumper and starts to push.

“Erg, uuugh.” She puts her full weight behind it, leaning forward, then turning around and pushing it with her back.

She revisits the front of the car to tries to drag it by her fingertips.

She returns to the bumper and starts to try to kick it forward, impractically, but her pushing didn’t seem to do anything. “Come on car.”

She’s panting by the time the only other car on the road passes by,

“Hey!” She calls, trying to run in front of it, “hey!” They drive on past.

Mabel pouts for a moment and then climbs on top of her car, sitting crosslegged on it’s roof.

“Alright, some meditation, deep breathes, and we’ll think our way out of this Mabel!”

She was on the road from Grunkle Stan’s house in the woods to town, so very few people passed her, and none stopped. It didn’t help that her phone service was shaky at best, and this was embarrassing. Almost too embarrassing to ask for help.

Finally, after a couple deep breaths and getting bored of meditation right away, she tries to get service, phone in hand, standing on top of the roof itself and hoping it doesn’t give way under her.

She goes through her list of contacts in Gravity Falls: Candy, Grenda, Wendy, that one guy from the grocery story she forced a number onto, Robby, the police, she passed by Grunkle Stan, he couldn’t know.

  
The phone either didn’t ring at all, or no one picked up.

  
She tries to push the car again.

“I. Am." She puches, "Warrior women!” She cries with a huge thrust from her legs and the car gives an inch, “aha!” She jumps up and down in glee.

She celebrates momentarily at her win before she see’s a familiar shiny black lamborghini coasting down the road.

“See Mabel? It is your day.” She crows, and jumps immediately in front of the vehicle flailing her arms.

“Hey, hey!” The car is forced to stop. The vehicle then sits motionless in front of her for one very long moment, like it was thinking, waiting.

The window finally opens, slowly.

“Hello, hi, it’s Mabel, Pacifica, I know it’s been awhile, but I’m in a touch of trouble- and oh,” It was Pacifica’s father, her smile fades.

“My daughter is in town.” He states very flatly, “And I have places to be young lady.”

“Oh yes, right.” She starts to back off from his menacing stare, he starts to get back into the car, “or if you could just tell Pacifica, or anyone in town I’m out here, andtryingtogettoMedved!” She says all at once as he too gets back in the car and starts the engine.

She runs after him and tries to reinforce her message, “alright! I’ll be waiting here, just...send someone ever!” Her eyebrows furrow, but she has to believe he wouldn’t just leave her out here.

Mabel waits an hour, several times trying to approach the forest creatures to send a message,

“Okay little friend, I know this sounds crazy, but weirder things have happened in this town.” She chuckles stiffly, “I need you to get help alright? I just some friendly folks to help me Push, Pull or Drag my car here, Hailey VanBugabon, to Medved. So I can trade it in, and have some cash for- hey where are you going?” It runs off into the woods.

She tries to follow it but gives up when the trees start to look spookier.

She huffs and rests her forehead on the side of her door, she knew the car was in need of TLC that she couldn’t give, but it couldn’t have just waited to die on her?

Mabel hoists her bag out of her trunk, and leaves her car in the middle of the road.

“It’s okay Bugabon.” She pats the side of the car before she departs, “I know this is the end for you, but I’ll be back,” She kisses its side, “Probably.”  
She heads off, abandoning her last form of transportation in the middle of the road.

“It’s okay, it’s alright.” She tries to reassure herself. “I’ll just buy a really cute bike from the thrift shop, put some tassels on, glitter, it’ll be great.”  
  
She dislodges a rock from her shoe, and tries to imagine how it isn’t as far as she thought to town.

\-----------

It is pretty far. Her bag seems to get heavier and the spring weather remarkably hotter.

She’s sweating through sweater when she jogs into Gravity Falls proper.

“Alright, we made it!” She tries to sound chipper as she approaches main street. “And just another block to Grenda’s place.” Who she hoped wasn’t ignoring her calls on purpose.

“Hey, how you doing,” She greeted the townsfolk as they passed, “it’s Mabel, hi.” She tried to address everyone on the street she came across, hoping to establish herself again quickly.

Some give a brief, ‘howdy’ and she was back to a wide smile by the time she reached Grenda’s parents house (the one with the loft next to it).

She rang the doorbell, bouncing on the bottom of her heels and then ringing it again as she swings her arms.

A robust figure answers the door, a thick women in a floral print and a brown bun.

“Oh, Mabel!” She says excitedly, a greying tall man joins her, he grunts. “We’re so glad you've arrived, we were getting worried there.”

“I hit a few road bumps,” she wondered if she should mention her car now or later, “but I’m here now! And boy I’m excited Mr. and Mrs. Grenda’s parents.”  
They laugh at her cute attitude as she masked the fact she forgot their last name.

“Is Grenda home? I’d love to catch up!” Mabel gets around to asking.

“Oh, uh,” the two exchange a concerned expression as the glance at one another, “Grenda’s still away at college for the semester sweetie.”

“Oh, yeah, duh.” She laughs and hits her head whimsically, she tries not to let her smile falter.

“Why don’t we show you to your flat dear?” The women suggests pleasantly.

Mabel nods enthusiastically, sleeping away this afternoon sounded like a great way to erase her problems.

She follows the older couple to the side of the house.

“It was a storage unit, or rather an above ground ‘apocalypse bunker’ put in place by the last owners, but we transitioned it into a flat!”

Mabel hauls her bag across the grass, “neat!” That did sound pretty cool. “Grunkle Stan always said we should get around to building one of those.”

“Ohoho,” She laughs and Mabel stares at the decidedly square concrete building.

They open the cast iron door, and a one room apartment lies before her.

“This is you.” The man grunts, Mabel walks down the two steps.

“Homey,” She tries to say, though the floor is pure concrete, and it’s the size of a relatively large closet.

Better than nothing she told herself.

“Rent will be do on the first promptly, and laundry can be done in the house. No smoking, no parties, and no pets. I’ll let you unpack dear, toodles!” She sets up the ground rules and then closes the door.

Mabel takes stock of her new living space, it at least had a kitchen and a bathroom, one large window and plain wardrobe.

And hey, no sharing, she could put a rug down, all the posters she wanted, and buy one or two heaters. It could work.

She puts her bag down next to the dresser and kicks her shoes off. She immediately puts them back on as the floor is freezing.

She face plants on the naked bed and then turns over to look at the dull grey ceiling. She takes out her cell phone.

‘hey, bro bro’ She starts out as she texts diligently to her brother.

‘Did you make it alright to the new place?’

‘yeah! :)) it’s really nice, and i can open shop up tomorrow’

‘I’m happy for you. I think you’re gonna do great there, Gravity Falls isn’t Seattle.’

‘duuuh, i have a good feeling about this.’

‘I believe you, but, you know, be careful. Gravity Falls was a dangerous place...And business isn’t for everyone.’

She can see him making that crinkly-eyed concerned face from a country away.

‘doubter :P, >:(‘

‘No, no, I’m just saying, not doubting.’ he backtracks.

‘haha, whatev, Im in my elemant, it’ll be fine,’

‘*element’

‘>:P’

‘I believe! Gotta go to class though. Text me later.’

‘have fun! give any cute Stanford boys my number ;)’

He doesn’t reply, Mabel sighs and and looks up at the only other window in the place, it had bars over it.

She sits back up resolutely. So what if she had no friends, barely any money, or car, she was Mabel Pines and she didn’t give up! She puts her clothes away, stares at the fridge for ten minutes and then lies back down on her bed.

 **  
** She rolls over onto her stomach and traces flowers into the mattress, she misses her pig.

**Author's Note:**

> 'Star' as in her shooting star symbol for her in the series, aged up Mabel navigating life, Pacifica comes into play next chapter


End file.
